"The next step is to identify what genetic anomaly is causing this familial problem with words and language. The possibility that there may be a single gene, or cluster of genes, that plays an important role in how the brain links words to meaning is very interesting and merits urgent further investigation."

Brain surgery boost for children with
severe epilepsy - 15 May 2012

Professor Helen Cross
(UCL Institute of Child Health) talks about epilepsy, and the different ways to treat the disorder. Read: BBC News

Dyslexia: could it be an advantage?

Dr Valerie Muter, Consultant Neuropsychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, joins a panel discussion on BBC radio 4's Woman's Hour to discuss The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of
the Dyslexic Brain, written by Drs Brock and Fernette Eide.

Director of CDCN, Professor Faraneh Vargha-Khadem, gives an interview to CNN World One live on 17 February 2012 on Helping Syria's Child Victims

2012 Frank A Elliott Lecture

University of Pennsylvania, 2 February 2012

Title: "Developmental amnesia: Growing up without episodic memory"

Abstract:

Our initial studies in children with bilateral damage
to the hippocampus arising from hypoxia/ischaemia revealed a pronounced
dissociation between episodic memory, which is markedly impaired, and semantic
memory, which is relatively preserved. We labelled the syndrome ‘developmental
amnesia’ in order to differentiate it from the more global anterograde amnesia
usually seen after bilateral medial temporal lobe damage incurred in
adulthood. A series of follow-up studies will be reported to examine some
of the variables leading to the developmental syndrome and to investigate
further some of its defining features. The findings indicate that the
syndrome is directly related to the extent of bilateral hippocampal pathology
but is independent of the age during childhood when this damage occurs.
The resulting form of amnesia is characterised by a dissociation not only
between the episodic and semantic components of cognitive memory but also
between recall, which is severely affected, and recognition, which remains
relatively intact. Behavioural, electrophysiological, and functional
neuroimaging findings in one of the patients led to the proposal that
developmental amnesia occurs when the neural mechanism underpinning the
mnemonic process of ‘recollection’, as contrasted with ‘familiarity’, is
selectively compromised.

2011 Boyd McCandless Memorial Lecture

University of Emory, Atlanta, 7 November 2011

Title: "Degree of hippocampal damage and memory impairment after
early exposure to hypoxia-ischaemia"

Professor Eleanor Maguire, former CDCN Steering Committee Member features as Role Model in Science and Engineering Achievement, USA Science and Engineering Festival